The Finance Seat – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this episode of The Finance Seat podcast, Headstar Managing Director James Roach speaks with Mike Sprot, CFO at IDHL, about scaling a digital agency under private equity ownership.

Mike reflects on joining IDHL during COVID, completing a PE deal remotely, and helping the business grow from 200 to 400 plus people through organic growth and acquisitions. They explore what successful integration really takes, why culture is often underestimated, and how agencies avoid losing sight of value creation.

The discussion also covers life under private equity, managing performance pressure, balancing short-term results with long-term strategy, and how finance leaders are responding to AI, global expansion and increasing complexity.

Mike Sprot is CFO at IDHL, a multi-brand digital marketing agency operating across the UK, Europe and the US.

Connect with Mike: www.linkedin.com/in/michael-sprot

About IDHL

IDHL is the UK’s leading digital marketing, weband commerce specialist. 

Focused on delivering meaningful outcomes, they combineexperience, AI-driven innovation, and deep insight to deliver transformation and commercial acceleration for world-leading brands. Backed by 500+ specialists across the UK and US, and AI innovation through IDHL Labs, theyturn intelligence into measurable competitive advantage. 

Focused on what matters. Built for growth. 

Website: www.idhlagency.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/weareidhl

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In this episode of The Finance Seat podcast, Headstar Managing Director James Roach is joined by Mel Ross, an experienced CFO with a career spanning corporates, private equity-backed businesses and early-stage startups.

Most recently Mel works as a CFO at pubX - an innovative business that helps organisations deploy generative AI with clarity and governance.

Mel shares how she moved into startup and fractional CFO work, and what she has learned about the financial blind spots founders often have. They discuss the differences between corporate, scale-up and early-stage CFO roles, and how priorities shift from profit to cash, structure to flexibility.

The conversation also covers forecasting in uncertain environments, managing investor relationships, building finance teams at the right time, and the resilience required to operate in high-pressure early-stage businesses.

Connect with Mel: www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-ross-09237b55

About pubX:

pubX is an AI enablement platform and consultancy that helps organisations adopt, scale and govern generative AI responsibly. Through frameworks, tooling and advisory, pubX supports businesses in deploying AI in ways that improve performance while managing risk.

Website: www.pubx.ai

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/pubxai

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In this episode of The Finance Seat podcast series, Headstar’s Managing Director, James Roach, speaks with Fiona Roberts, former Finance Transformation Director at TalkTalk Group - a major UK telecoms and connectivity provider. Fiona explains what finance transformation really is in practice, why strong initiation prevents scope creep, and how to keep momentum over multi-year programmes.

They explore people vs. systems, the warning signs of change fatigue, what to look for in a transformation leader, and how to define success so the programme actually ends - before you move into continuous improvement.

If you are planning or in the middle of a finance transformation, this conversation will help you focus on the decisions that matter.

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In this episode of The Finance Seat podcast series, Headstar’s Managing Director, James Roach, sits down with Emma Dutton, CFO at myenergi, to discuss how finance leaders can build teams that can scale with the business and how she recruits and retains the best finance talent.

Emma explains how she has personally built a finance function that keeps pace with the hypergrowth of the business, her top tips for hiring for character while balancing technical specialisms, and why communication is the differentiator for brilliant finance people.

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In this first episode of the new The Finance Seat interview series, Headstar’s Managing Director, James Roach interviews Ciara Allan, CFO at ARC Inspirations, a high performing, commercially successful bar group in the North of England operating 3 brands with 17 venues in total.

Ciara explains how a hospitality CFO stays on top of cash control, costs and managing the leadership team’s confidence when demand can fluctuate week to week.

She covers how to establish forecasting discipline when trading can be volatile, how to turn cost control into an advantage, how she keeps people calm and informed under pressure, building good habits even when the business is cash-rich, and much more…

If you lead finance in a fast-changing environment, this is a practical, no-nonsense conversation.

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Interim roles don’t give you time to ease in - you’re expected to deliver almost immediately. In this episode of The Finance Seat, Headstar Managing Director, James Roach, speaks with Claire Tisch, Director at Unity Advisory, about how to deliver change at pace while bringing people with you.

They explore what it takes to step into a business and quickly understand its dynamics, how interim roles allow leaders to challenge thinking without internal politics, and why shaping the brief is often just as important as delivering it.

The conversation also looks at the role of AI in finance,and how leaders should be thinking about it as part of a wider strategy rather than a standalone solution.

Claire Tisch is an award-winning director, with a background in finance transformation and interim leadership across a range of organisations. She has led large-scale transformation programmes and was recognised as Finance Interim of the Year for her delivery and impact.

Connect with Claire:www.linkedin.com/in/claire-tisch

About Unity Advisory:

Unity Advisory is a next-generation CFO advisory firm, backed by Warburg Pincus, supporting ambitious mid-market organisations. They bring together AI-native finance, tax, and deals capabilities in one integrated model, free from audit conflicts and legacy constraints.

Website: www.unity-advisory.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/unity-advisory

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In this episode of The Finance Seat, Headstar Managing Director James Roach is joined by Ross MacGregor, Finance Director at Axiologik, to talk about what it really takes to scale a consulting business sustainably.

Ross shares his experience of joining a growing digital consultancy with no formal finance function, navigating an early period of decline, and rebuilding towards stable, long-term growth. The conversation explores the realities behind utilisation, margin and headcount, and why growth needs guardrails if it is going to last.

They also dig into finance partnering, the role of automation and systems, balancing permanent staff and contractors, and how finance leaders should think about transformation, data and ROI in an increasingly digital world.

Connect with Ross: www.linkedin.com/in/ross-macgregor-21106352

About Axiologik

Axiologik is a multi-award-winning digital, technology, and engineering consultancy specialising in leading and delivering ambitious, mission-critical digital change. They thrive on complexity, guiding organisations through uncertainty and solving challenges others can’t. 

Axiologik’s industry-leading work helps clients achieve excellence in digital delivery. We’re proud to be one of the few UK consultancies awarded B-Corp certification, reflecting our commitment to positive societal impact and ethical, responsible practices.

Website: www.axiologik.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/axiologik

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The CFO role is changing, and expectations are broader than ever.

In this episode of The Finance Seat podcast, Headstar Managing Director, James Roach, speaks with Kate Cooper, CFO at the Institute of Directors, about what leadership looks like beyond the numbers.

They explore the transition from technical expert to strategic leader, the importance of flexibility and inclusion in modern finance teams, and how CFOs play a key role in shaping governance and ethical decision making. Kate also shares herperspective on the evolving relationship between CFO and CEO, and why that partnership is becoming more critical.

If you are thinking about the future of the CFO role, this episode offers a practical and thoughtful perspective.

Kate Cooper is CFO at the Institute of Directors, the professional body for company directors in the UK, where she plays a key role in shaping financial strategy, governanceand organisational leadership.

Connect with Kate: www.linkedin.com/in/katecooper375

About the Institute of Directors:

The Institute of Directors is the UK’s professional body for company directors. It supports leaders through training, qualifications and resources, helping them develop the skills needed to lead organisations effectively and responsibly.

Website: www.iod.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/school/institute-of-directors

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Fractional CFO roles are talked about more than ever, but what does the reality actually look like?

In this episode of The Finance Seat, Headstar Managing Director, James Roach, speaks with Rachel Smith, Fractional CFO at RLS Finance, about her journey from corporate finance into a portfolio career and what that shift really involves.

They explore how fractional careers develop over time, the challenge of managing multiple clients and priorities, and why setting boundaries is essential if you want the model to work. Rachel also shares how she has shaped her work towards the areas she enjoys most, and why being comfortable with uncertainty is part of the role.

If you are thinking about going fractional or working with a fractional CFO, this episode gives a clear and practical view of how it actually works in practice.

Rachel Smith is a Fractional CFO at RLS Finance, working with a range of growing businesses to provide strategic finance support, from financial planning and business partnering through to supporting key decision making.

Connect with Rachel: www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-smith-fca-8a514353

Follow The Finance Seat to be alerted about new podcast episodes and check out www.headstar.co.uk for more information.